Can’t tell the difference between a swan and a goose? In fact, this is no wonder, because in the impression, swans all have white feathers, and the feathers of geese are usually white, and they are all birds under the order Anseriformes and duck family, and they also have certain similarities in shape, so , if you put a white swan and a big goose together, many friends may not be able to tell them apart.

However, despite their similarities, geese and swans They are not the same kind of bird, and their genes are quite different. Let’s take a look at the differences between domestic geese and swans.

Although domestic geese and swans both have geese in their names, their differences are actually similar to that of leopards and cheetahs. Swans are the collective name for birds in the Anatidae family, while domestic geese are Anatidae geese. Birds are animals belonging to the same family but belonging to different genus.

However, there is more than one kind of swan and domestic goose. Among them, there are 6 kinds of swans, and not all swans have pure white feathers. Among the 6 kinds of swans, only mute swans, whooper swans, cygnets, and black-billed swans have pure white feathers, while black swans have pure white feathers. The feathers are mainly black, and the neck feathers of black-necked swans are black.

The domestic goose cannot actually be counted as a species, because it is the product of domesticated wild birds and can only be regarded as a subspecies. Moreover, there is not just one kind of domestic goose, but two kinds: the Chinese domestic goose. and European domestic geese. These two domestic geese are domesticated from wild swan geese and gray geese respectively. They are both birds in the Anatidae family.

After domestication, Chinese geese have become one of the most common poultry in Asia, while European geese have become one of the most common poultry in Europe, West Asia and North Africa. Moreover, after domestication, these two kinds of domestic geese also showed great differences from their wild ancestors due to genetic mutations and artificial selection.

The biggest change is the characteristics of the beak and The color of feathers. After domestication, the most common color of the two domestic geese is white. In terms of beak characteristics, the European domestic goose is lighter in color than its wild ancestor, the gray goose.The beaks of swan geese are orange-red, but the beaks of European domestic geese are more yellow. Secondly, the beaks of Chinese domestic geese have changed even more, because the beaks of swan geese are black, but after domestication they become orange-yellow, and although the base of the beak of wild swan geese has warts, , but not particularly obvious. After being domesticated into domestic geese, this feature was amplified, and the presence or absence of warts at the base of the beak has become one of the most obvious differences between Chinese and European geese. (The picture above shows European geese, and the picture below shows Chinese geese)

Therefore, white feathers are not a common feature of swans, and although their common geese all have white feathers, they also have primary colors. type (the color type is consistent with the wild ancestor), and geese and swans are birds of the same family but different genera, and there are large genetic differences.

Since geese and swans are not the same species, their differences are quite big. The best distinction is between the primary color type of domestic geese and black swans, black-necked swans and mute swans, because no swan's feather color is the same as any type of domestic goose's primary color type, and no one type of domestic goose has the same feather color. The feather color is the same as the large black feathers of black swans and black-necked swans.

As for the mute swan, although the base of its beak There are warts, but the base of the mute swan's beak is black and the rest is orange-red, which is different from the beak color of any kind of domestic goose.

Although most members of swans and geese have white feathers and long necks, since they are birds of the same family and different genera, there are still many differences, not to mention the color of their feathers. The problem is that you can easily distinguish geese from swans just by the color of their beaks and legs.

And there is more than one kind of swan or goose. Among them, there are two kinds of geese that we are familiar with. The most common one is the Chinese geese after domestication of swan geese.